Fifty Years In The Northwest
gun, having first, by means of spies, satisfied themselves that there
were no Chippewas in the vicinity. One morning, as the whites were
going to work, they were surprised by the sudden appearance of these
Indians, who rushed suddenly down upon them from different trails,
gorgeously painted and without blankets. Their movements were so
sudden that the whites were completely surprised, and at the mercy of
the Indians, who, however, satisfied themselves with searching the
camp and appropriating all the victuals they could find, ostensibly
searching for the gun which was not to be found where they had left
it. Complaining bitterly of its loss, they withdrew to a trap rock
ledge near by, where they formed a circle, danced, sung and fired
several guns into the air. They then asked to see "Oge-ma," the agent,
and formally demanded the gun. Everyone in camp denied any knowledge
whatever of the missing article. The Indians were at first much
dissatisfied, but finally Little Crow advanced, smoked a pipe and
offered it to. Capt. Frazer, shook hands and withdrew, apparently in
peace.
As it is not the custom for Indians to molest the dead, they firmly
believed a white man had taken the gun. Little Crow applied to Maj.
Plympton at Fort Snelling, charging the theft upon the whites. The
major in turn wrote to Capt. Frazer at the Falls to make an
investigation, as a result of which the gun was found in a tool chest
belonging to Lewis Barlow, concealed under a false bottom. Barlow
professed entire innocence and ignorance of the matter, suggesting
that his brother must have placed the gun there. Capt. Frazer severely
reprimanded him for imperiling the lives of all the whites in the
settlement by his foolish and thievish act. The gun was sent to Maj.
Plympton, who wrote to Capt. Frazer cautioning him to be on his guard,
as the Indians were much irritated. Barlow had earned the contempt and
dislike of his fellow workmen.
INDIAN BATTLE OF STILLWATER
Mr. Tuttle was at the Falls at the time of the famous battle between
the Sioux and Chippewas, which was fought in the ravine where the
Minnesota state prison now stands, July 3, 1839, and has given me the
following account:
The Chippewas of the St. Croix had been invited by the officer in
command at Fort Snelling to a council, the object of which was to
effect a treaty of peace. Two hundred and fifty or three hundred
Chippewas, including their women and children, passed down the St.
Croix in canoes, rested in fancied security in the ravine near the
present site of Stillwater, and made a portage thence to Fort
Snelling, where, under protection of government soldiers, the council
was held. The pipe of peace had been smoked and the Chippewas were
quietly returning home, and had encamped a second time in the ravine,
expecting to re-embark the next morning on the waters of the St.
Croix. Just at the dawn of the ensuing day, and while they were still
asleep, a large body of Sioux, who had stealthily followed them, fell
upon them suddenly, and with wild yells commenced an indiscriminate
slaughter. The Chippewas rallying, drove the Sioux from the ground,
thereby retaining possession of their dead, to the number of about
thirty. After the smoke of peace at Fort Snelling it was reported that
a Sioux had been killed. This incensed them so that they followed in
two parties, one party pursuing the St. Croix band and another the
Mille Lacs band up Rum river. The latter party overtook the Chippewas
at the point where Princeton is now located, and slew sixty of their
number. It was afterward ascertained that the Sioux killed near Fort
Snelling was killed by a Pillager of the Upper Mississippi, an Indian
of a band that was not in the council. The Sioux and Chippewas, it is
true, are bitter, relentless, hereditary foes, but this slaughter
occurred through a grievous mistake. The Chippewas, on their return,
rested at the Falls. Capt. Frazer gave them medicine, dressed their
wounds and fed them. The Indians gave way to the wildest grief at
their losses, and when they heard of the sixty killed of the Mille
Lacs band, their mourning cries and moans baffled description.
THE FIRST LOGGERS.
The first logs were cut by J. R. Brown on the Taylor's Falls flat in
the winter of 1836-37, but the first regular outfit and camp was that
of John Boyce, who came up in a mackinaw boat from St. Louis with
eleven men and six oxen, landing at St. Croix Falls late in the fall
of 1837. Mr. Andrew Mackey, who was in his party, has furnished me
with some items regarding this adventure. The boat was cordelled over
the rapids, and, with poles and lines, taken as far as the mouth of
Kanabec river, where a camp was established. Boyce had considerable
trouble with the Indians. Little Six, a Chippewa chief, came to the
camp with two hundred warriors in a defiant, blustering manner,
telling him to "go away," to "go back where they came from." Boyce
proceeded to the Indian mission at Lake Pokegama and invoked the aid
of Rev. Mr. Boutwell, Ely, Ayers and Seymour, who came back with him
to the camp and had a "talk" with Little Six, who claimed that the
whites had paid no money. Mr. Seymour explained to them the provisions
of the treaty, of which they would soon hear; that under its
provisions the whites had a right to the timber; that they were not
usurpers, that they would live peaceably and not disturb their game.
The Indians granted assent, but refused to allow the whites to remove
any of their chingwack (pine). Mr. Seymour, apprehending trouble,
advised Mr. Boyce to leave. He determined to remain. The Indians being
still troublesome, Mr. Boyce descended the river to the falls, the
Indians following. On going over the falls the boat filled and Mr.
Boyce lost nearly all he had. The Palmyra shortly after broke the
silence of the Dalles with its shrill whistle and brought the news of
the ratification of the treaty by Congress. Boyce sent his boat down
the river, built small boats and made haste to return to his camp on
Kanabec river, where he remained through the fall and winter cutting
logs.
THE FIRST RAFTING.
In April and May of 1839, Boyce rafted his logs with poles and ropes
made of basswood strings. The high water swept them away. He gathered
from the broken rafts enough for one raft, made it as strong as
possible, and continued the descent. The raft struck upon the first
island and went to pieces. Boyce saved the canoe and a part of the
provisions. Boyce was by this time in a furious rage at his want of
success, but tried a third time to make a raft. The crew, tired and
hungry, refused to work. A new contract was made and written on a
slate, there being no paper. The logs were left in the river. Some of
them floated down and were sold to the Falls company and to the
company at Marine. Boyce lost all his labor and investment; the men
got but little for their work. Frank Steele had assisted in supplying
provisions and clothing for the men, the value of which he never
received. Boyce was disgusted and left the country.
AN INDIAN PAYMENT.
Levi W. Stratton, who came up on the Palmyra, July, 1838, gives a few
reminiscences from which we select an account of a payment made to the
Chippewa Indians the year of his arrival. The crew and passengers of
the Palmyra had been greatly annoyed by the Indians, who expected
their first payment in July, and besieged the boat in great numbers,
demanding it at the hands of the first whites who had come up the
river, unable to understand the difference between the regularly
constituted authorities and those immigrants who had nothing to do
with the payments. It was not until the first week of November that
their goods came for payment. The place where Stillwater now stands
was selected as the place where they should assemble.
The old stern wheel Gipsey brought the goods and landed them on the
beach. The Chippewas came there to the number of 1,100 in their
canoes, nearly starved by waiting for their payment. While there
receiving it the river and lake froze up, and a deep snow came on;
thus all their supplies, including one hundred barrels of flour,
twenty-five of pork, kegs of tobacco, bales of blankets, guns and
ammunition, casks of Mexican dollars, etc., all were sacrificed except
what they could carry off on their backs through the snow hundreds of
miles away. Their fleet of birch canoes they destroyed before leaving,
lest the Sioux might have the satisfaction of doing the same after
they left.
Many of the old as well as the young died from overeating, they being
nearly starved. Thus their first payment became a curse rather than a
blessing to them, for their supplies soon gave out, the season for
hunting was past, they were away from home and had no means of getting
there, except by wading through deep snow. Many perished in the
attempt. As is usual in such cases, I suppose, no one was to blame,
but the poor Indians had to suffer the consequences of somebody's
neglect. The old Gipsey had scarcely time to get through the lake
before the ice formed.
INDIAN DANCING AND THEFT.
In the rough log cabin at St. Croix Falls were three females, the
wives of Messrs. Orr and Sackett, employes of the company, and Miss
Young, daughter of a widower of that name. Life in that cabin was by
no means a dream of bliss, for in consequence of the mosquitoes, more
relentless persecutors than the Indians, a smudge had to be kept
burning night and day, or at least by day when the sun was not
shining. The old cabin served for a kitchen, while an arbor was
improvised outside for a dining room. Shortly after the arrival of the
immigrants, and before they had learned all the peculiarities of
Indian character, they were visited by a party of fifteen or twenty
braves, who set about adorning themselves, and spent the forenoon in
painting and getting themselves up in gorgeous rig, regardless of
expense, preparatory to giving a free entertainment. Just before
dinner was called, they arranged themselves near the table and gave a
dance, which was very much applauded, after which they were given
presents of bread and meat, and dismissed, apparently highly pleased
with the success of their exhibition. The household gathered about the
table to enjoy their repast, but to their consternation, not a knife,
fork or spoon could be found. While the majority of the Indians were
riveting the attention of the new comers by their extraordinary
antics, the remainder were quietly abstracting the tableware. They
were afterward charged with the theft, but protested innocence. The
missing articles were never heard of again. A pig of lead, left
outside, disappeared at the same time. The poor Indians denied ever
having seen the lead. Mr. Stratton remarked, however, that all their
war clubs, pipes and gun stocks had been lately and elaborately
ornamented with molten lead.
OTHER THEFTS.
At another time, shortly before payment, when the Indians were
unusually hungry and troublesome, two barrels of pork and one of
butter mysteriously disappeared. The pork barrels were found empty in
the river, and also the butter barrel with one-third of the contents
missing. The Indians lay all day in camp sick, but protested their
innocence. Nevertheless, at payment day a claim of two hundred dollars
for the pork and one hundred and fifty for the butter was allowed and
kept back. They made no objections to paying for the pork, but
protested against paying for the butter, as it did them no good and
made them all sick.
In September, an old Indian came to the cabin, begging for something
to eat. The agent went to the pork barrel and held up a fine piece of
pork weighing about twelve pounds, to which the tail was still
attached. At sight of this his countenance fell and he went away
silently and sullenly.